Ex-NYPD sergeant from LI asks to be spared jail in bribery case

Ronald Buell of Kings Park, a former NYPD sergeant who pleaded guilty to taking money from a private investigator in return for information from a confidential police database, asked a judge to spare him from jail in a sentencing memo filed Thursday.

A lawyer for Buell argued to Manhattan U.S. District Judge Alison Nathan that he was “deeply remorseful” about taking $9,000 from defense investigator Joseph Dwyer, and provided the information because he and Dwyer were childhood friends, not out of greed.

Dwyer, an ex-cop from Shoreham, got probation in May for bribing Buell. Buell, 49, faces a slightly more severe recommended sentence under federal guidelines, but defense lawyer Henry Mazurek said Buell should get credit for his service to the public during 27 years at the NYPD.

“He clearly was not the creator of the scheme,” Mazurek said. “Further, Mr. Buell’s length and level of prior public service, as documented in the letters and evaluation reports provided to the court, reflect an extraordinary civic commitment that often included personal risk.”